"It's the hall of fame and I appreciate it," said Bowden, the former head coach of the FSU football team.

Among his huge crowd of supporters are former players from even his first days of coaching.

"Well I met Coach Bowden, I came out of Miami Florida to this little podunck junior college and thought what does this guy know that I don't know? He was about six years older than me, and he showed me very quickly," said Win Lavender, who used to play for Bowden at South Georgia College.

Bowden coached Lavender and many others at South Georgia College, before going to Howard College, then to Florida State. It was at FSU that he coached from 1976 to 2009. He won 389 games and is now the winningest coach in college football history. This night, he said, is almost like a reunion.

"It feels good to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time," said Bowden.

And so surrounded by friends, family and fans, Bowden accepted this honor and even talked about his excitement for the new football season.

"I can't wait for the season I'm very excited about it, Now that I'm not coaching I can watch everybody play," said Bowden.

In all, Bowden coached football for almost six decades.

Also honored Friday night in the Hall of Fame was Sue Hall. She served as Bowden's secretary for more than 20 years. Many say she was the backbone of the Florida State football program.

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